CVE-2025-54465
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThis vulnerability exists in ZKTeco WL20 due to hard-coded MQTT credentials and endpoints stored in plaintext within the device firmware. An attacker with physical access could exploit this vulnerability by extracting the firmware and analyzing the binary data to retrieve the hard-coded MQTT credentials and endpoints from the targeted device. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the MQTT broker and manipulate the communications of the targeted device.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe ZKTeco WL20 device stores MQTT broker credentials and endpoints in plaintext within the firmware binary. An attacker with physical access can extract the firmware and analyze it to retrieve these hard-coded credentials, then use them to connect to the MQTT broker and manipulate device communications.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- Authentication
- X
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- X
CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Confirm device modelIdentify the physical device or check system documentation to confirm the model is ZKTeco WL20Affected if Device is a ZKTeco WL20 model
-
Obtain firmware versionCheck device firmware version through vendor management interface, device label, or by extracting firmware if accessibleAffected if Firmware version cannot be verified as patched by vendor
-
Extract firmware binaryIf physically accessible, use firmware extraction methods (e.g., flash memory readout, debug ports, or firmware download from vendor) to obtain the binary fileAffected if Firmware binary can be extracted and analyzed
-
Search for plaintext MQTT credentialsUse strings command or binary analysis tool (binwalk, hexdump) on extracted firmware to search for MQTT-related patterns such as broker URLs/IPs, port numbers, usernames, and password stringsAffected if Plaintext MQTT broker addresses, usernames, or passwords are found in the firmware binary
-
Verify credential storage methodExamine firmware configuration files or binary data structures to determine if MQTT credentials are hardcoded within the firmware image rather than stored in secure storage or provided externallyAffected if MQTT credentials are embedded directly in the firmware binary and not retrieved from external secure configuration
User is affected if using a ZKTeco WL20 device with firmware containing plaintext MQTT broker credentials or endpoints that can be extracted via physical access.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataRemove hard-coded credentials from firmware and implement secure credential storage; rotate all exposed MQTT credentials immediately; update device firmware if vendor releases a patch.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-54465 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-54465 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data